A centralised database for the insurance industry will go live soon in Nigeria

The centralised database system being put in place by the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) for the entire insurance industry in the country is scheduled to go live during the current quarter of the year. The centralised database will be a repository of all the insurance industry data.

Chairman, Information Technology Committee of NIA, Olawale Adedokun, who made this known in the committee's report to members of the association in Lagos recently, informed that the system is currently undergoing pilot test run.

The insurance industry had in the last quarter of 2010 set out to develop and implement a centralised database system, which will be repository of all insurance policies underwritten by the insurance companies.

Adedokun stated that "the centralised database system has since been developed and currently undergoing pilot test run. It is expected to go live within the third quarter of year 2011."

He added that the project team set up with the mandate to evolve a framework for the implementation of the database solution has been able to produce documentations among which are "user requirement definition, RFP, project charter and implementation plan".

Apart from serving as authentic repository of the Nigerian insurance industry data, the system is also intended to provide mechanisms for the verification of Insurance Certificates issued or presented as evidence of insurance for Motor and Marine at the first instance and then other classes of insurance.

Besides, it is expected that the solution will help in providing qualitative analysis of industry performance and serve as source of historical data for benchmarking, while also enabling the financial information of NIA members to be rendered electronically for ease of analysis.

By the time the centralised insurance database solution becomes fully operational, it is expected that it will help in eradicating fake insurances, minimise multiple fraudulent claims and most importantly provide authentic, qualitative and comprehensive data on insurance for national policy formulation.

In the same vein, it is anticipated that the system will provide easy verification of all policies issued, improve proper collection of taxes on compulsory insurance transactions, facilitate recovery of stolen vehicles, as well as enhance transparency and accountability among stakeholders thereby restoring confidence in the insuring public.

Chairman of NIA, Mr. Olusola Ladipo-Ajayi, confirmed that the insurance companies were required to send the data of their underwritten policies to the association, and that such data would be stored in its central database.

He said, "It is only the things that are input into the database that you can make reference to. So, all the companies are now busy updating their data and sending them to NIA so that we can feed them into the central database. Whenever you need to make reference to it, what will come out from the database will match what your policy holder is carrying."

The NIA, however, pointed out that the association would not kick-start the new system until it has been able to get it right.